Process of and apparatus for obtaining oil



(NoModeL) T BOWERS PROCESS OF ANDAPPARATUS FOR UBTAINING OIL.

N0. 25'9,467. Patented June 13, 1882.

N. PETERS. Fhofio-Lilhngnphcr, Wuhingwn. n. a

-UNITED STATES PATENT FFIcE.

T. BRAY BOWERS, OF CHESTER, PENNSYLVANIA.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 259,467, dated June 13, 1882,

Application filed March 14, 1882. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, T. BRAY BOWERS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chester, in the county of Delaware and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Processes of and Apparatus for Obtaining Oil, of which the following is a specification, reference being bad therein to the accompanying drawings.

It is well known that it is customary in the manufacture of woolen cloth to apply oil to the material at one or more stages of the manufacture; secondly, to wash the material toremove the oil, (both for cleansing purposes and also to assist in the felting, which is effected by the operation of fullin g thirdly, that this removal of the oil and grease is commonly assisted by the use of soap; and, fourthly, that the liquid residue obtained in washing'(containing in solution the soapy and fatty mate rials) has been treated as a waste material.

My invention consists in providing, first, a simple process for collecting from this waste material the oil and fatty matters and putting them in such condition that they may be utilized in the various arts.

The invention consists, also,in an improved mechanism for carrying out certain steps in the process.

The invention further relates to other matters, which will be hereinafter more fully described.

When the woolen cloth is being subjected to the operation of the fulling-mill (or other apparatus for felting more or less the cloth) it is also washed or subjected to the action of water and soap for the purpose of removing all oily and greasy matters adhering to the cloth, whether they have been intentionally applied or have come accidentally into contact with thecloth. There results from this washing and fulling large-quantities of refuse liquid, consisting of water together with the soapy materials and the fatty or oily matters held in solution or suspension in the water. This materialI run into large vats, tanks, or reservoirs, which may be of any preferred or suitable size. After a suflicient quantity'ot' liquid residue has been gathered Iintroduce acid of sutiicient 5o amount, preferably sulphuric acid, though others may he successfully used, such as hydrochloric, nitric, &c. The acid operates to rc-. move all the alkaline ingredients in the mass, leaving the oily or fatty materials free, and they immediately begin to rise to the top of the liquid. These oily materials consist of the fatty matters which were employed in thesoap,

materials which have resulted from the action of the acid upon the ingredients'of the liquid After the water has been withdrawn the material which remains is taken out by means of a pump or other suitable devices and placed upon a filter, which may be constructed in any preferred way, preferably by means of charcoal, coke, or similar material. When the operation of filtering has been completed the fatty materials are cut into square cakes, which are covered with cloths and are subjected to pressure.

In the accompanying drawings I'have shown a press which I have devised for the purpose of carrying out the next step in the operation.

Figure 1 is a top plan view. Figs. 2 and 3 are side elevations, Fig. 2 showing the door open and .partly broken away.

A represents a tight compartment, preferably made of plates of iron bolted together.

B is a platen, arranged to bereciprocated vertically in the chamber by means of a screwshaft, 0, which latter passes upward through the top of the chamber and through the hub ofa bevel-wheel, D. With this wheel engages a bevel-pinion, E, mounted upon a shaft, F.

Gis the power-wheel upon the shaft F, adapted to impart rotation to the wheel D, and through it cause an upward or downward motion of the platen B.

H represents a door arranged in such manner as to be adapted to close the chamber perfectly tight, and yet so that it can be opened when it is desired to have access to the interior. It is hinged at h h to one wall of the chamber. It is secured in place by means of ICO cross-bars I I (which are seated in cars or arms i i projecting outwardly from the walls of the chamber) and clamping-screws J J.

K K are plates of sheet metal, which are arranged between the cakes of fatty-matter which are to be pressed.

In carrying out this part of theoperation the platen B is drawn upward sufficiently far and a series of the cakes of fatty matter, with sheets K K interposed, are placed on the bottom of I he chamber A, beneath the platen. The door H is then securely clamped against the open side, and power is applied to screw-shaft G by means of the wheel G. While the pressure is being exerted upon the fatty matter through the parts described steam is admitted to the interior of the chamber through a suitable aperture, situated preferably as is the one shown at K. The result of these operations is the production of an oil which escapes from the interior of the chamber through an aperture, M,ia'tthe bottom, where it is received in suitable receptacles.

Many of the advantages which I secure arise from having the platen arranged to reciprocate vertically, and from attaching it to the lower end of the shaft, so as to provide an apartment which is open throughout-that is,extended without interruption from wall to wall of the pressing-chamber.

I am aware that pressing-chambers have been heretofore made with pipes and tubes traversing them and passing through the platen; but these constructions are not available for my purpose, as the material which I act upon is manipulated in'cakes or masses more or less solid, and it would be impossible to insert and withdraw these masses to advantage if the chamber below the platen were interrupted by crossing tubes or pipes. The manipulation is made in my case still more convenient byhaving the door in thevertical side, and not, as heretofore, in the top. The cakes or masses of fatty material are so carried and introduced that the portable sheets of metal lie in horizontal planes, the metal sheets operating to support the masses while being carried to the press; and therefore, to get the best effects, they areintroduced on horizontal lines through the vertical door, and not down through the top, as has been customary in using presses to obtain oil from liquid matters.

It will be seen that the door extends entirely across the chamber, so that the latter can be entirely opened or exposed to permit the introduction of larger masses than could be inserted if the door were narrower than the chamber.

The oil which I have succeeded in thus obtaining I find to be highly beneficial for many purposes, especially in such arts as the dressin g of leather.

I am aware that it is not new to subject waste wash-liquor containing valuable coloring materials and also fatty matters to acid treatment to separate them from the liquors, and afterward subject them to a low dry heat and to pressure, to separate some of the fatty matter from the coloring materials; but in the processes with'which I am acquainted the purposes have been such that the heat and pressure cannot be made available to extract all of the fatty matters, and have rendered it necessary to supplement the pressure bya solution of the residue in petroleum (or other solvent of fat) in order to extract that which could not be obtained by pressure. In my process, on the other hand,I apply steam directly to the fatty material while under pressure, the steam imparting thereto heat of a much higher degree and of a much greater efficiency than can be imparted by the dry-heating at a temperature below 212,usedin processes followed heretofore. Moreover, by means of the steam applied directly to the fatty material while under pressure, the high heat in the fat can be obtaining oils, and for other purposes, are very old,-and do not claim broadly such as my invention but I provide a perfectly steam-tight chamber, whichis also liquid-tight everywhere except at the desired point of delivery. Therefore I can subject the contents of the chamber while under pressure to a strong and hot blast of steam, which cannot be dissipated, but is retained until it has imparted the desired effect to the material. The top of the pressurechamberis made of perfectly-ti ght metal,which, together with the metal of the sides, operates to carry to the material much heat by conduction. The presses that have been heretofore used for analogous purposes have been more or less open or provided with perforations or apertures, which make them unfit for the purpose at which I aim. These features of the construction of the body proper of the pressure-chamber are supplemented by the strong and tight fastening of the door, which, by means of the projecting ears ii, the cross-bars I I, and the clamping-screws J J, canbe forced into position so tightly as to entirely prevent the escape of steam or of the contents which have been introduced through this door.

The rear side piece, N, of the chamber is 1. The herein-described method ofseparatin g the oily or fatty matters from waste wash-liquor, it consisting in first treating said material with acid to cause a separation of the fatty materials, and, secondly, in subjecting the fatty matters to pressure in a steam-tight compartment and simultaneously applying steam directly thereto, substantially as set forth.

2. Theherein-described method forobtaining oil from waste wash-liquor, it consisting in first treating said material with acid to cause a separation of the fatty materials, then filtering said materials, then dividing theminto portable masses, then arranging two or more of said massesin a series, they resting upon each other, with metal sheets between them, and then subjecting them to pressure and heat, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination of the vertically-arran ged door, the detachable cross-bars, the screws for clamping the door, and the pressing-chamber having the tight top and the tight back and sides, substantially as set forth.

4. The combination of the platen, the pressing-chamber, having an uninterrupted apartment below the platen and formed with the tight top, back, and sides, and the verticallyarranged door, adapted to be forced tightly against the chamber, substantially as set forth.

5. -In a machine for compressing fatty matters, a compressing-chamber, constructed and arranged substantially as set forth, to provide below the platen an uninterrupted apartment for the material being subjected to pressure, and above the platen a steam-tight apartment provided with a passage-way for the introduction of steam, substantially as set forth.

6. Thecombination of thecompressing-chamber,having an uninterrupted apartment above the platen and provided with a tight top permanently bolted to the tight back and sides, the screw-shaft passing verticallythrough said tight top, and a vertically situated door, through which the material is introduced on horizontal lines beneath the platen, and the screw-clamps, arranged substantially as set forth, for forcing the door tightly against the open side of the compressing-chamber.

7. The combination of the platen, the compressing chamber, having an uninterrupted apartment below the platen, and having also a side adapted to be entirely opened and a door which extends entirely across said open side and is adapted to be clamped against it, substantially as set forth.

' In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

T. BRAY BOWE RS.

Witnesses: J. N. SHANAFELT, I SAAO RODGERS. 

